Naturally
by dreamqueen1
Summary: When Autumn Pendley's parents are murdered by Death Eaters, Fred decides he needs to help her return to normal as much as possible. But neither expected what would happen along the way.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER:

Me: I do not own anything Harry Potter, but soon I will because J. K. Rowling is leaving the copyright and everything that comes with it in her will. YAY!

J. K. Rowling: What? No I'm not.

Me: DDDIIIIIIIEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

J. K. Rowling: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! *creepy silence*

Me: Yay! I killed J. K. Rowling!

Policeman 1: AHA!!! A confession!

Me: Uh oh! Abi! Help!!! (Abi is one of my close friends who happens to be very very ADHD. LOL)

Abi: DDDDDIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! *****silence* Yay! I killed him!

Policeman 2: AHA!!! Straight from the murderer's mouth!

Abi: AAAAHHH!!!! HELP!!!!!

*cycle starts all over again*

By the way, I'm not actually that crazy. I came up with it when I was mad at a teacher once, and I wrote it down. Later, I turned it into a funny disclaimer.

However, I do own the character Autumn Pendley, as well as the plot line to this story. Hope you like it!

Brief description of Autumn for the reader: Autumn is a muggle-born, at the story's opening she is fourteen years old, putting her a year behind the golden trio. She has wavy ash blonde hair down to the bottom of her shoulder blades, curious bright green eyes, and she is five feet and three inches tall. She is Ginny Weasley's best friend, and her house is Gryffindor. Her personality combines Hermione's brains, the twins' sense of humor, and Draco's willingness to do just about anything to get what he wants. Some personality traits unique to Autumn though are klutziness, the attention span of a goldfish (only sometimes, normally she has the attention span of a rabbit, maybe a duck), she is absolutely terrible at sports, and is a very happy-go lucky person.

This story starts the summer between Harry's fifth and sixth years.

Enough of this nonsense, let's get on with the story.

Italics = thoughts

* * *

_Today has just been one of those days I would not care to relive, _thought Autumn as she sat under a tree at Hogwarts, causing different colored sparks to come out of her wand. Throughout her day, Professor Snape had taken fifteen house points from Gryffindor because she was out of uniform (even though it was the last day any of the students would be there and there weren't any house points for him to take), she had run into Draco Malfoy twice that day (once she literally ran into him, knocking her to the ground) and he tortured her for being muggle-born again, got hit with a bludger while watching the Gryffindor quidditch team practice, and after all that she managed to fall off the pier into the Black Lake.

Ginny had been sitting out here with her, but Ginny could see that the blonde was not in a mood to even try to carry on a conversation, so the Weasley girl had soon left her best friend alone to drift off into la la land once again. Now she sat there staring at the multi-colored sparkles from her wand. She allowed her mind to wander to home. She was glad to be going home. She loved Hogwarts, but days like that one made her miss home more than ever. She stood up and headed into the castle, looking forward to the train ride home the next day.

* * *

Autumn lay on the ground in her backyard staring at the stars. She had been home from school for nearly two months, and she missed her friends, but she didn't want to go back to school just yet. School came with people, and with people came gossip and drama. She had always hated drama, as well as the chaotic backstabbing that it caused. Sure home was boring and she couldn't use her magic, but boring was what she had been craving lately, a break from the excitement that magic brought into life.

Unfortunately, the break she'd wanted was never going to happen. Just as she finished thinking about it, her mother's shriek echoed out of the house and filled the air, just as a bright green light flashed in her parents' bedroom window. No more than a minute later the light flashed again as her father's scream resounded throughout the yard. Autumn immediately grabbed her wand, only to have someone take it from her as the person covered her mouth with his hand and grabbed her around the waist. She tried to scream only to have his grip over her mouth tightened. She recognized her potions professor's voice as he whispered to her, "Be quiet if you want to escape this place with your life."

Instantly the young teen was scared into silence. Her only question was if the teacher meant to help or harm her. Snape released her mouth and she whispered, "But my parents…"

He interrupted, "Are already dead. Nothing we can do but keep you alive right now. Now let's go."

The next thing she knew she was experiencing the unpleasant feeling of a side-along apparation. When it was over, she had fallen down onto the cement front step of 12 Grimmauld Place. Snape helped her up before entering the building that served as the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. The professor led her into the kitchen, where Sirius Black, Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione all sat around a rather large table. Spotting the slightly green dazed blonde, Ginny immediately ran and hugged her, while the others questioned Snape. Ginny asked, "Merlin! Are you all right? You don't look so good."

She pulled away and leaned on the counter for support. She barely whispered loud enough to be heard, "I think I'm going to be sick." The youngest Weasley quickly led her best friend to the nearest bathroom, where Autumn promptly hurled into the toilet. Ginny sat on the floor next to her waiting for her to finish, and the red head barely noticed when her brother Fred appeared on the floor next to her, gently rubbing Autumn's back.

When Autumn finally recovered, Fred said, "That's what happens sometimes the first few times you apparate. You get used to it as you do it more often."

The sick girl wiped off her mouth with toilet paper as she shook her head. She muttered, "That was unpleasant, but it's not what made me feel sick."

Ginny stared at her friend, a confused look on her face. "Then what did?"

As the memories of merely moments before flooded her mind, the fourteen-year-old found that she could no longer keep herself together. Tears streamed down the girl's face. Fred immediately pulled her into his lap and Autumn buried her face in his shoulder, not caring that she barely knew the boy that held her so closely. She mumbled, "They're gone. They're gone and they aren't coming back because of those damned bastards." Her voice was muffled by Fred's shirt but the two Weasleys still understood.

Fred stared at the girl in his arms, his heart breaking to see her this way, even if he didn't know her that well. He knew her well enough to know that she was normally a happy-go-lucky girly girl who was strong and independent. It was next to impossible to truly hurt her feelings, she kept them so heavily guarded. He knew it must have taken a horrendous tragedy to cause her to break like this. He asked with a voice completely saturated with concern, "Autumn, just what exactly happened tonight?"

The crying beauty in his lap answered, "Death Eaters killed my parents, and I didn't even get the chance to try to get revenge or save them or anything. Snape told me they were dead and dragged me here before I could. I was in the backyard when they were killed." There was a sharp edge to her words; they were cold as ice and laced with hatred.

Ginny stared in horror at her disheveled best friend. She couldn't believe that the sweet girl she had left at the train station no more than two months ago was the same tortured soul sitting in her brother's lap now. _How could something like this happen to such a sweet, caring, innocent girl? _Ginny thought to herself. Neither Weasley said anything, knowing that the words deemed to be comforting by society would be hollow and meaningless, and anything they could say would be taken as pity. They weren't sure if pride was even still an issue for Autumn, but they didn't say anything they thought of in case it was. The two weren't going to risk insulting her when she was already in such a delicate state of mind. After a few minutes the crying stopped, and Autumn pulled any emotion inside, leaving her face a cold mask and her eyes dead and empty. Ginny stood and said, " I hate to leave, but I need to talk to Mum for a minute. I'll be back soon, and if not I'll be sure to send someone else, ok?"

Autumn lifted her head and nodded. Ginny disappeared around a corner and left Fred alone with Autumn. Fred said quietly, "I know what you're trying to do, you know. I can already tell you it won't work. Not from experience, but I've watched someone else try what your trying, and believe me, it'll destroy you."

She looked up at the prankster and asked emotionlessly, "And who destroyed themselves doing whatever you think I'm doing?"

Fred sighed. He had heard that she was stubborn, and he had a feeling he was about to witness that stubborn streak in action. "Well, Harry didn't _actually _destroy himself after losing Sirius last year, but he nearly did, and you know what you're doing. You're holding the feelings in, trying to pretend that everything's ok even though everyone knows it's not. You're sitting here sobbing one minute then the next you're perfectly fine, you're over it, like nothing happened. You can go ahead and isolate yourself, lock your feelings in your heart, go off in your own little world; it's not really any of my business. But I thought it only fair to tell you that it'll only make things worse on you." He paused. "And I'm sure Harry or me or Ginny or anyone here really would be happy to let you talk to them and open up to them, or yell and scream at them or whatever you need to do. Just react. If you don't, all it will do is make everyone think that you're some kind of heartless freak or something."

Fred's speech had caused a fresh round of tears for the young girl, partly because she was mad at him, but mostly because her mother had told her something ridiculously similar to something her mom had told her after her first breakup. She had tried to pretend that nothing was different when she was heartbroken. Her mum had given almost the exact same speech just over a year ago. Autumn hid her face in Fred's shoulder again and muttered, "You sound like my mother." Fred panicked and started to apologize when she whispered, "Thank you. It kind of reminded me that I was alive, and that it was ok to feel. It's just become my first reaction, to just shut off like that whenever something hurts. If I were honest with myself I would admit that trust has always been an issue for me. Trusting people scares me and that's all there is to it. I feel like I have to be strong emotionally. Never show how hurt you really are. I've always hidden in a shell but when it cracks it splits in half."

Fred cleared his throat. "If you don't mind my asking, why is that? And please forgive me if a sound like a psychiatrist or whatever. I'm just concerned."

She shifted so that her cheek was on his shoulder and her forehead against his neck. "I was one of those girls who wore her heart on her sleeve for the longest time as a little girl. Well, it resulted in getting hurt frequently. But it really was the worst when I had my first crush. My best friend told him I liked him and when he confronted me about it I admitted to it. It freaked him out, I mean we were nine or ten so I guess that makes sense. That just kind of topped it off. My emotions have been as well protected as possible ever since. It's also why anyone who wants to be my friend has to jump through so many hoops. People think that I'm just another run of the mill stuck up bitch but I'm not. I just want to be sure they won't betray me like too many friends I used to have did." She took a deep, shaky breath. "Which is why it doesn't make sense that I'm sitting here pouring out my heart to you when I barely know you. I just trust you for some unexplainable reason."

Fred smiled at that comment. "Well, I'm certainly glad you trust me, whatever the reason may be." She yawned, soliciting another smile out of the Weasley boy. He somehow managed to pick her up in his arms and stand up at the same time. He carried her into the kitchen to get his mum to lead her to where she was supposed to stay.

However when he walked in the room his mother looked at Autumn and said, "Aww, the poor dear, looks like she's fallen asleep. Fred, take her upstairs to an empty bedroom, would you dearie?"

Fred looked down in shock to find that the girl in his arms had indeed fallen asleep during the short walk from the bathroom to the kitchen. He repressed a grin at just how cute and innocent she looked in her sleep, even though Ginny had told him that she could be very devious and sneaky when she wanted to be, a prankster in disguise, of sorts. He nodded to Mrs. Weasley and headed towards the stairs, only to be stopped by his twin brother, George. He asked cheekily, "Did you bore another one sleep, Forge?"

Fred scowled. "Ha ha very funny, George. She 's just worn out and you know it. The dungeon bat did tell you all what happened didn't he?"

George nodded, all traces of humor gone from his face. "Yeah. But I kind of wonder why Snape didn't come to Dumbledore first, and how he knew she even lived in that neighbor hood."

Fred thought for a minute, then said, "I think Snape might be the one who addresses all the envelopes and sends the owls to the students. Maybe that's how he knew. But you're right, I don't see why he didn't tell Dumbledore first."

Snape's monotone voice came from behind Fred. "Because, Weasley, I didn't have time to tell Dumbledore if we wanted the girl to live. However, several members of the order are currently in the area preventing any more casualties. Now, whichever one of you is holding the girl, hurry up and take her upstairs. As for the other Weasley, just go busy yourself with something that has absolutely nothing to do with me." With that, the greasy haired potions master walked away from the twins.

George shook his head, and Fred sighed. George chuckled and said, "Annoying little git, isn't he?"

Fred laughed softly and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Well, I'm gonna find a room for her. I'll be back down in a few minutes, depending on how long it takes me to find an empty room." George nodded as his mirror image carried Autumn up the stairs. After about ten minutes of looking, Fred finally found an empty bedroom. The walls were light green, the furniture was black, and the floor was a mahogany hardwood. He laid the petite blonde on the bed and started to walk away, only to have someone grab his hand. He turned around to see Autumn just barely awake enough to know what was going on around her. He smiled and said, "It's ok, Autumn, it's just me. Go back to sleep."

Instead of letting go, she tightened her grip on his hand and asked timidly, "Umm, Fred, would…would you mind staying? I just…don't want to be alone."

He smiled tenderly at her and said, "Um, sure." He lay down on the bed next to her and instinctively wrapped his arms around her protectively. He whispered, "G'night."

She snuggled closer to him and whispered, "Good night, Fred." Not even five minutes later the young girl had fallen back asleep. However, so had Fred.


	2. Chapter 2

HEY! Oh my gosh, I am ssssooooooo sorry I took so long to update. I'm gonna try to do better (at least for a little while). LOL! Anyway, I do not own anything, blah blah blah, etc., etc. Here you go. Italics are still thoughts. Btw Autumn turned fifteen in between her last day at Hogwarts and the day her parents die. And when I said Sirius Black was there last chapter I meant Remus Lupin. Sorry for any confusion!

When Autumn woke up the next morning, it took a few minutes to remember where she was and why she was there, but when she did it hit her like a train going full speed. She glanced at the clock. _2:30 p.m. Great. _Suddenly she realized that she was alone. _Wait a minute…where did Fred go? Then again, it __is__ the middle of the day; I couldn't actually expect him to stick around all day until I woke up. That would be crazy._ She got up and, upon searching the room, found that all of her belongings had been brought here…literally all of them. Not even one sock had been left behind. On top of her dresser was the necklace Ginny had given her for her twelfth birthday that she would have sworn she had lost at the beach earlier that summer. She took a shower and changed into skinny jeans and a plain gray tank top, then, her hair still wet in a messy bun, went down to the kitchen for something to drink. When she got there, she found Fred and George sitting at the kitchen table, a cauldron simmering on the table between them. George greeted her with a cheerful, "Morning, princess!"

Autumn forced a small smile. "Hey, George." Looking at the cauldron, she decided aloud, "I don't even want to know."

The boys laughed as she began to rummage through the refrigerator. Fred asked curiously, "What are you looking for, love?"

The affectionate nickname surprised her into nearly dropping the banana pudding she held. She stammered, "I—uh, I'm just, umm, just looking for something to drink." She quickly put everything in her hands back in the fridge, now scared that she would drop it all.

The twins laughed at her sudden klutziness. George commented, "Why, my dear Autumn, I do believe my brother has actually flustered you by giving you a pet name."

Fred defended quickly, "I didn't give her a pet name. I just called her that, that's all."

George smirked as the two flushed bright red. "Yeah, sure, whatever floats your boat." He stood up and moved past Autumn and opened a cabinet, then pulled out what appeared to be a wine bottle. He got down a glass and walked back to the table, poured the drink into the glass, and motioned to his chair. "Sit." Not in the mood to argue, she obeyed meekly. Pushing the glass toward her, he said, "Firewhiskey. Judging by what you've been through in the past twenty-four hours, this is what you need. Drink up; just don't tell anyone who gave it to you."

Autumn reached for the glass, but Fred grabbed her hand and said, "George, I'm not sure this is such a good idea. I mean, this is kind of like giving Ginny some of this stuff, and if Mum finds out she'll kill us. Besides, getting drunk is not the way for her to deal with something like this."

George replied, "I know. I'm not suggesting she use alcohol to deal with it; I'm suggesting she use it right now to help her process this. To bring her out of the pits to be able to fully comprehend what the hell just happened."

Fred summoned three shot glasses to him and poured the firewhiskey into the glasses. "Well then just one shot will do just fine. You've got enough in there for three shots."

Autumn spoke up for the first time since the topic had been brought up. "One shot for each of us. Great. Now please just somebody give me something to drink. It could be water for all I care, just something."

Fred chuckled as he handed her the glass. "Here you go." Clinking his glass to hers, he said, "Cheers."

"Cheers," she muttered before taking a sip. She shuddered as it burned her throat. Setting down the glass quickly in shock, she asked, a bit on edge, "You couldn't have warned me it was going to do that?"

George answered, "No, of course not, then we wouldn't have seen the look of shock on your face at just how good a shot of that stuff really is." Their matching smirks normally would have irritated her, but she couldn't find it in herself to be annoyed with them. Instead of replying, she merely shook her head and started drinking the rest of the glass. George sat down across from her and downed the shot, and Fred did the same with his drink. After a few minutes of silence, George asked in a worried voice, "Autumn, are you ok? I know that might sound like a stupid question considering the circumstances, but still…how are you feelin'?"

She thought about that for a moment, not sure what to tell him. She sighed and replied quietly, "I haven't got the slightest clue. To be honest, it's taking everything I've got just to form one coherent thought." She paused, then laughed at herself. Fred had been there when she had hung out with Ginny enough to know that that was not her usual laugh. It was hollow and empty, almost dark. It made Fred mentally wince. "What am I doing? She asked, mostly to herself. "I barely know you guys; I shouldn't be burdening you guys like this." She stood up. "Sorry, guys. Thanks for the drink."

She started to run back upstairs, but a strong hand grabbed her arm and refused to let go before she could get anywhere. Autumn turned to see Fred standing not even a foot behind her. He said firmly, "You are _not_ burdening us. You're not bothering us at all. We want to know how you're feeling because we care, and if you're not ok then we are more than happy to listen to what's bothering you and believe me when I say that we will do absolutely everything in our power to make it ok, no matter what it is. If someone upsets you or hurts your feelings, you come to one of us and when we're done with that person we'll have made Voldemort look like a newborn puppy." She looked into his eyes, trying to detect even the slightest trace of deception, but all she found there was sheer determination and extreme protectiveness, which gave her a feeling that he truly was capable of making Voldemort look like he was a heavenly saint. She swallowed hard and nodded. Seeing her agree to his request—_well, demand, but still_—Fred pulled on her arm and hugged her tightly.

When he finally released her, Autumn pulled away and said, "Thanks, Fred. I have no idea why you're doing this, but thank you." Suddenly she realized that she needed something...ice cream. She moved past Fred and opened the freezer.

George laughed and asked, "What are you looking for now?"

Finding what she wanted, Autumn pulled a gallon of chocolate ice cream out of the freezer. "The world's best dessert, of course," she said matter-of-factly, scooping some out into a bowl. Fred wasn't really sure why, but he made a mental note of that little comment for future reference.

PLEASE READ & REVIEW! THANK YOU!


	3. Chapter 3

OK, so I would like to point out that I have not gotten many reviews for this particular story…that's not good. I greatly appreciate reviews, no matter what they say. For all I care, it could say, "Silly rabbit, trix are for kids," because it's still a review, and that means that more likely than not that person read my story. So, please click on that little button at the bottom of the page that says **review this chapter** after you have read it and tell me what you think…good or bad. Thank you! Now, enough of this, on with the story!

* * *

Remus Lupin walked into Grimmauld Place's kitchen to investigate a loud exploding sound he had heard, and as expected he found the source there. Said source was the Weasley twins and Autumn Pendley sitting around a bubbling cauldron. One of the twins (he wasn't really sure which) was covered in an odd pink slime that seemed to sparkle and glow. The other two sat laughing as he glowered at them, until he seemed to get an idea. A mischievous grin on his face, he used his hands to gather as much of the goo as he could before wiping it all off onto Autumn's hair, getting some on her face in the process. She let out a shriek as she realized what was happening and jumped up from the table, backing away from it. She giggled as she said in a pathetic attempt at threatening him, "Oh no you don't! You stay away from me, Fred Weasley!"

The other twin, who was apparently George, laughed, earning slime on his shirt from Fred. He scowled, causing Fred to burst out laughing. Fred stood and approached Autumn, who stumbled over a chair as she tried to back further away. Remus chuckled and leaned against the doorframe, deciding to see how she would handle herself in this situation. "Oh come on, Autumn; don't you want to give me a hug? It'll be a huge insult if you don't," Fred teased, his arms wide open as he slowly walked towards her.

The blonde girl's eyes darted around the room, looking for an escape route. Reaching the other end of the table, Autumn turned her body towards Remus, apparently planning using him as a sort of shield from Fred's antics. "Well, then I am afraid that I am going to have to insult you terribly." Seeing her about to escape, Fred rushed towards her.

She squealed and ran towards the werewolf, but Fred apparated in front of her so she accidentally ran straight into his arms. He crushed her to his chest and whispered softly in her ear, "Gotcha."

Remus smiled as George laughed at the helplessly trapped look on Autumn's face. She had done well, but Fred had had two advantages: being legally old enough to use magic, and apparation. If it weren't for that, Remus suspected that she might have gotten away. Finally intervening, "All right, Fred, I think that's enough. However, I do have two questions: what is it really, and what are we going to tell Molly?"

The three teenagers laughed as Fred released Autumn, who now matched Fred. George answered, "No idea on both questions. Miss Coordination over there spilled the chocolate milk Fred had made her into our concoction that we had been working on."

Autumn giggled, obviously a little dizzy. Fred had sat down when he had started losing his sense of equilibrium, and they both seemed a little dazed. She said in a dreamy voice that would have made Luna Lovegood proud, "I made the cauldron go poof!"

Remus arched an eyebrow at George, who just shook his head and suppressed a grin as Autumn tripped over her own two feet and plopped into Fred's lap, who was looking extremely pleased at the moment. George said, "Apparently the side affect is getting high." However, as quickly as it came it went, leaving them totally sober and Autumn getting out of Fred's clutches. "Anyway, it exploded and covered Fred in that slime junk. As for what to tell Mum…" the redhead trailed off, losing himself in thought.

Autumn spoke up. "Well, what if we said you two were helping me get in some practice for potions class next year because I needed the help, and, being the klutz that I am, and spilled chocolate milk in it, resulting in this mess?"

All three guys' jaws dropped when she finished, all shocked that she had come up with such a spectacular cover-up story that was so perfect so quickly. The twins continued to stare in awe at the blonde witch as Remus said, "Yep, that ought to do it. Well, I'm getting out of here before I become guilty by association." With that, he left the room, passing Molly Weasley on the staircase as he headed for the library upstairs.

* * *

As the twins sat with Autumn in her bedroom before dinner, Fred watched Autumn as she sorted through her CDs, looking for a particular one that she said had her current favorite song on it. Her side-swept bangs fell into her eyes from behind her ear, and Fred had to fight back the urge to return it to its place. Suddenly she exclaimed, "Aha!" as she removed a CD from its case.

George asked, "What is it?"

She laughed softly, and the sound made Fred's heart race. "A muggle singer named Selena Gomez and her band The Scene."

George commented, "Sounds kind of weird."

Autumn shrugged. "Yeah, well, keep in mind that your wizard bands sound weird to muggles and muggle-borns like me. I mean really, the Weird Sisters? They're not even related…or girls." George started to argue, but she hushed him by saying, "Shh, listen," as the music started playing from the…what had she called it? Oh yeah, CD player.

_How you choose to express yourself,_

_It's all your own and I can tell_

_It comes naturally, it comes naturally…_

Fred noticed as Autumn began singing along with the CD, so softly he almost couldn't hear her, which was probably how it was supposed to be.

_You follow what you feel inside,_

_Listen to it and you don't have to try,_

_It comes naturally,_

_Mmmm, it comes naturally,_

A quick glance at George confirmed that he heard her too, but neither of them was about to stop her. At this time in her life, they were both surprised by how well she seemed to be recovering, and this was proof of just that.

_And it takes my breath away,_

_What you do so naturally…_

_You are the thunder, and I am the lightning,_

_And I love the way you know who you are,_

_And to me it's exciting, when you know it's meant to be,_

_Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally,_

_When you're with me baby,_

_Everything comes naturally, it comes naturally,_

_Ba-ba-ba-baby,_

_You have a way of moving me,_

_A force of nature, your energy,_

_It comes naturally…_

Autumn suddenly stopped singing, which disappointed Fred because he had enjoyed listening to her. He thought Autumn sang the song better than the actual singer (A/N: no offense to any Selena Gomez lovers out there, because I actually love her music and her voice, but sadly I don't own those), but that was just his personal opinion. She blushed furiously, obviously embarrassed at being caught singing along. Fred asked, "Autumn, what's wrong? Why'd you stop?"

She blushed even more as she mumbled, "Well, um, it's just that, well, I don't like to sing in front of people. I mean, I guess I'm just shy about it because I know I'm not very good. I know I'm not terrible; I'm just not…good."

The twins stared at her in disbelief. George demanded, "Who on earth was tone-deaf enough to tell you that you can't sing? I thought you sounded great!"

She said without thinking, "Well, my par—" She stopped mid-word, the harshness of reality hitting her yet again when she realized what she had been about to say. Swallowing hard, she began again, "My parents…used to hear me singing in my bedroom. They'd say that I sounded like a dying cat. I know they were making a joke out of it, but that was just their way of saying it nicely. They still meant it though, and I knew they meant it; I just never let it get to me. I mean, the door was always closed, making the sound change a bit, but they were probably right. Point is, I can't sing, so please don't do something stupid like try to make me sing in front of anyone."

Fred gave her a look of innocence. "Now tell me, Miss Pendley, what makes you think we'd try to do that?"

She smiled and gave him a playful shove, which he allowed to push him so that his back was on the bed. "Because, Mr. Weasley, you and your brother here are prone to doing stupid things like stage a karaoke night or something and force me to sing in front of a bunch of people, and I would greatly appreciate it if you two would just let this be."

The twins exchanged looks, but before any comments could be made, Ginny came in and said nervously, "Um, guys? Mum has supper ready down in the kitchen." As soon as the words came out of her mouth, the boys aparrated to the kitchen, and Molly's scream could be heard immediately after. Ginny rolled her eyes as Autumn got up and joined the redhead for the walk downstairs. Ginny asked, "So how are you holding up, Autumn?"

She shrugged. "Not bad. Still struggling a bit, but hiding it well. I'm surprised, but your brothers Fred and George have actually been a big help."

Ginny got a mischievous smile on her face that rivaled the twins'. "Yeah, I've heard. So, you and Fred, huh? I can see that happening." At the confused look from her best friend, she said, "Professor Lupin told me about the slime incident. Sounds like you two have it bad. Let me know how it works out."

Autumn was about to deny anything going on between them, but they had reached the kitchen, and Molly had pulled her into a tight embrace. "Oh, good to see you're doing better, dearie," she said before pushing her towards a plate of food in a very motherly fashion.

Rolling her eyes, Autumn sat down between Fred and Ginny. Fred snaked his left arm around the blonde, making her jump. He glanced over to make sure she was ok and found that he had just surprised her. Meeting his gaze, she blushed and dropped her eyes to her plate. She hoped that she would be basically ignored for the rest of the meal, but alas, no such luck was found. Ron, in an attempt to get his older brothers in trouble, said casually, "So, Autumn, I heard that you, Fred, and George were down here making a potion this afternoon, when you started snogging them and stopped paying attention to the potion, and it exploded."

Molly screeched, "WHAT! You two said that you were helping her study for next year when she spilled chocolate milk into the cauldron, and exploded!"

Autumn interjected, "Which is exactly what happened, Mrs. Weasley. I don't know where that ridiculous rumor came from, but if I had to guess, Ron just made it up to get Fred and George into trouble. I assure you, Mrs. Weasley; I have never kissed a Weasley, and I don't intend to ever do so. It would just inflate these two's egos too much; heck, their egos are already too big as it is."

Fred poked her side, making her squeal and try to wriggle out of the prankster's grasp, but to no avail. Autumn found herself being pulled over to him and being tickled mercilessly until Molly hit Fred on the back of the head with a wooden spoon. "Enough, Fred; leave her alone," she scolded as everyone else laughed at the two of them. Fred reluctantly released his captive, but he made certain to leave an arm around her waist possessively. Autumn scooted as far away from him as his arm would allow, still giggling. He gave her a roguish grin before returning to his unfinished meal. She returned to hers as well, thinking, _He is something else._


End file.
